The Kimbrian Island Chronicles - Ep. II
by chikorita18
Summary: Like I said for the last one, NO LIKE TRACEY, NO READ! Anyways, this is the second episode of Tracey's new journey as he meets up with an old friend...


The Kimbrian Island Chronicles  
Ep. II: Old Friends Reunited  
  
Author: Chikorita_18  
Category: General  
Rating: PG  
Summary: After leaving Pallet Town for the Kimbrian Islands, Tracey finds himself thinking of his old childhood best friend. Little does he know that she's coming in on the next ferry...but their celebrations are put on hold when two new villains burst onto the scene...   
A/N: Anything between asterisks (*) is a character thinking, anything between is a Pokémon speaking. And, yes, I think that Marill and Venonat are female, and I think that Scyther's a guy.   
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Tracey sighed heavily as he leaned on the rail of the ship. He wasn't sure why, but he just didn't feel like himself. He hadn't since leaving Pallet Town and all of his friends. He was going to miss bugging Ash and Misty endlessly about the secret crush they had on each other...or wondering if Brock would really stick to his offer of stepping back to let Tracey back into the 'posse', as he now called it.   
"Probably just said it so I wouldn't leave and make the professor do all that work on his own again," he mused to himself. "Brock would never be that nice to me..." He rested his chin in his hands and watched the Whirl Islands drift by. Normally, he would have whipped out his sketchpad at the sight of them - after all, they were the supposed resting place of Lugia when it wasn't guarding ancient prophecies - but now, he only watched them drift off like just about everything else.   
Marill and Venonat paddled up beside him, having finished their self-tour of the ship. Both could sense that their master was a little out of character, but they knew that Tracey had his days. He wasn't always happy, and when he got depressed, he let you know about it.   
Tracey, are you okay? Marill asked in Poké-language.   
Yeah, Venonat piped up. You look pretty down in the dumps there.  
Tracey snapped back to reality at his Pokémons' voices. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said. "I'm just wondering if leaving was such a great idea..."  
You went over this a hundred times back at the lab, Venonat reminded him. You were sure that you wanted to do it.  
"Yeah, I was sure then, when I was still there, at the lab. Now that I'm here, on my own, I'm not so sure about anything..."  
Well, maybe you'll find another traveling buddy. You know, like Ash and Misty, Marill was eager to help her master out in any way she could, but was a little upset that Tracey didn't think of she and Venonat as company.  
Tracey looked at the little Pokémon and smiled. "Don't worry, Marill, you guys are still my best friends, you know that. We've been together for ages and nothing will ever come between us."  
Marill grinned.   
Tracey kneeled down to pat both little Pokémon on the heads. There was a very strong bond between the three of them. In a way, they all came from the same kind of past. Tracey had left home, sick of being ridiculed and neglected by not only his parents, but just about every kid at school. Soon after, he had found Marill, who had been abused and neglected by her trainer, and used Marill in a battle with a kid that was doing the exact same thing to his Pokémon - Venonat had been the prize. That had been just after Tracey had turned ten years old. The trio had been together ever since. When one thought about it, it wasn't really that long - eight years, almost nine - but nonetheless, they'd been through so much together that none of them could ever imagine life without each other. Tracey considered them to be like his children, especially when the two of them got into an argument.   
Tracey stood back up and sighed. "Well, you guys," he said. "We've still got about an hour or two before we dock, so what do you wanna do?"  
Marill and Venonat looked at each other, then at Tracey, and shrugged. We dunno, Venonat said.  
Tracey made a face at them. "You mean you've explored this whole ship and you haven't found one single thing that looks interesting?"   
Marill shook her head. Nope, she said.  
Tracey raised an eyebrow. "Man, it's hard to keep you two occupied," he said. "Well, then, let's just wander around for a while, huh? Or we can go take a nap, get all rested up."  
I vote for the nap, Marill said.  
Me too, Venonat agreed.  
Tracey shrugged. "All right, then, let's head back to the stateroom," he said.   
  
***  
  
The blast of the ship's horn startled all four - Tracey, Marill, Venonat, and Scyther (who Tracey had let out after getting back to the stateroom) - awake. Tracey blew a strand of hair out of his face and tried to force the sleepiness from his head. "Guess we're here," he said, climbing out of bed. He rubbed his eyes for a second and then dug three PokéBalls from his backpack. "Okay, everybody," he said. "Into your PokéBalls. I'll take you to a Pokémon Center as soon as I find one."  
Venonat, Marill, and Scyther disappeared into their respective PokéBalls. Tracey clipped them to his waistband, since he rarely ever wore a belt, and slung his backpack over his shoulders, ready to face the unknown.  
The sunlight robbed him of his vision for a moment, but he was taken aback when the swirlies left his eyes. He was looking over an island that was completely engulfed in green. He had heard that the Kimbrian Islands weren't too populated, but he was staring at a blank desert of green, dotted only by the occasional house or other building. There was hardly any pollution at all, and for a moment, Tracey thought that he'd be totally alone on the island. There were a few people here and there, but nothing worth awing over.   
He stood there, on the dock, for a few moments before he decided that it was best he find a Pokémon Center. After asking a few people and wandering around town for about an hour, he finally found it. It was a tall, white building with the traditional PokéBall emblazoned on the front. He stepped in and was instantly greeted with a cold blast of air conditioning that was custom of Pokémon Centers.  
A Nurse Joy dressed in her usual island outfit waited at the front desk. "Hello," she greeted him. "And welcome to the Pokémon Center. May I help you?"  
Tracey took his PokéBalls from his waistband. "Yeah, would you take a look at my Pokémon?" he asked. "I think I've got a bit of a long journey coming up and I want to make sure that they're good to go for it."  
Nurse Joy nodded and took the Balls from him. "I'll only take a few minutes," she said, heading into the back room.  
Tracey sighed heavily, glad to finally be in the Kimbrian Islands. It seemed like a dream that he was bound to wake up from at any moment. He wandered over to a poster on the wall advertising the Kimbran Division of the Pokémon League. "So there still is one here...this is probably why Ash wanted to come."  
He was faintly aware of someone behind him and spun around to come face-to-face with a girl about his age, with bright magenta hair and shining blue eyes. She watched him for a pensive moment before she grinned wildly. "I knew it was you!" she cried.  
Tracey frowned. "Huh?" he said, confused.  
The girl raised her eyebrows. "You don't remember me? Tracey, how on earth could you have forgotten me?!"  
"I'd probably remember you if you'd tell me who you are..." Tracey said, only half meaning for it to come out loud.  
"It's me, Tracey, it's Madison! I was your best friend when we went to school together! I can't believe that you would forget me like that!"  
Tracey racked his brain for a memory and finally remembered. Madison Ayleigha had been one of his only friends in school. She had shared the same passions as he had and they'd spent many a lunch hour comparing drawings of Pokémon. But the two of them had eventually gone their separate ways, as so many friends do, and they hadn't seen each other since they were ten years old. And now, here she was, standing right in front of him. "Oh, my god, Madison, it's really you!" he cried.  
Madison's face broke into a huge grin. "Gosh, Tracey, I never thought I would ever see you again!" She threw her arms around him. "I missed you so much!"   
Tracey was still trying to get all his memories back. "I didn't think I'd see you again, either...I..." He was completely bewildered.   
Madison looked at him. "Man, you grew up to be really cute..." she said.  
Tracey blushed. Madison was always blunt as a spoon and she never hid anything from anybody. "I..."  
Madison raised her eyebrows at him. "Lemme guess...you don't like to brag," she said.  
Tracey shook his head. "No... 'cause I really don't think I'm that cute, as you say..."  
Madison shook her head, mimicking Tracey's gesture. "You were always modest, Trace," she said. "You mean to tell me that no girl has ever told you that they think you're cute?"  
Tracey looked at his feet. "No," he said matter-of-factly.  
"Well, now someone has," Madison said. She grabbed his arm. "C'mon, man, we gotta catch up!"  
  
***  
  
"Awww...I think your Marill is just so adorable!" Madison said, fawning over the little Pokémon. Tracey had gotten his Pokémon back from Nurse Joy and was now introducing them to Madison. Marill had taken an immediate liking to her and Venonat was closely following. "How long have you had these guys?"   
"Well, Marill and Venonat have been with me for about eight years, nine coming up, and Scyther's been on the team for about three, almost four." Tracey couldn't help but keep a hint of boasting out of his voice. He was proud of his Pokémon, and no one could convince him otherwise.  
Madison whistled in amazement. "Eight years," she said. "Whoa. That must mean that you started training when you were ten, huh?"  
Tracey nodded. "I tried my hand at being a trainer, but you know that I have a low tolerance for violence. I just hated to see Marill and Venonat being beat up...so I switched careers and I'm a..."  
Madison stopped him. "Wait a tick," she said. "Judging off how much I know you, lemme guess...you're a Watcher, aren't you? I say that 'cause you were always so quiet, like you were always watching something, always observing, never taking part..."  
Tracey nodded. "You know me too well, even though you haven't seen me in about eight years," he said.   
Madison was trying to talk and play with Marill at the same time. "So, have you gotten any big breaks since we were kids? You got dealt a pretty nasty hand as a kid."  
Tracey winced a bit as he thought of Professor Oak. "Well, yeah, I guess you could say that," he said.  
Madison looked up at him. "Really? What's been going on that you're not telling me?"  
Tracey didn't like to brag - he never had - so he kept his tone low as he said, "I've been working with Professor Oak for the last two years or so."  
Madison let out a squeak that startled even Venonat. "Tracey, you have got to be kidding me!" she said. "You actually got to work with Professor Oak? Geez, that's, like, every Watcher's dream, and you got to live it?"  
Tracey kinda danced around the subject. Finally, he decided to change the subject all together. "So, what about you?" he asked. "What have you been doing?"  
Madison rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, not that it matters now!" she said. "How am I gonna top you?"  
"Try me," Tracey said, intent on finding out what his best childhood friend was up to.  
Madison sighed. "Well, like you, I left home at ten...I got my Pokémon license right away and I spent the first five or six years out here training and battling...but I just decided 'bout two years ago that my heart just wasn't in battling anymore, so I changed careers, too. And this is the ironic part - I switched over to being a Pokémon Watcher, too. Weird, huh?"  
Tracey nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is when you think about our past together..."  
"So...do you...like...have a girlfriend or anything like that?" Madison asked carefully.  
Tracey raised his eyebrows. "Me? A girlfriend? I guess that's a legit question...but no. Traveling all the time makes that pretty hard. Plus, I just ain't that big on finding a girl...unlike this guy I know..." Why he was thinking of Brock at a time like that, he still couldn't figure out.  
"Well, yeah, it is hard when you're on the road all the time. You mean you never had a traveling posse or anything? You've been completely alone?"  
Tracey nodded. "Pretty much, except for the year before I went to work with Professor Oak...I traveled with a couple people back then." He closed his eyes for a second, feeling like he wanted to cry again.  
"Touchy subject, Trace?" Madison asked. She saw him nod. "Well, then, I won't bug you 'bout it." She sighed. "So, what brings ya to the Kimbrians?"  
Tracey looked back up and shrugged. "The same thing that drags every Pokémon Watcher here eventually."  
"Yeah, I know...the mystery, the intrigue, the wilderness, the idea of Pokémon that are born with powers greater than the same Pokémon in Kanto and Johto...same old, same old, I guess." Her eyes were shining as she said it. "That's why I'm here."  
Tracey smiled and was about to say something when the lights went out. He bolted to his feet, knowing for a fact that some part of Team Rocket was about to make its grand entrance.   
Sure enough, two shadowy figures appeared in the doorway. Tracey had to squint to make out their features. One was a young man no more than twenty-five, his hair so blond that it was almost white, and one was a girl, with black hair that had a bluish tone to it as it shimmered in the light. Both wore dark blue uniforms with the Team Rocket logo on them.   
"Now what?!" Madison cried, as if the whole thing was nothing new to her.  
Tracey looked back at her. "You know these guys or something?" he said.  
Madison's bright eyes were shining with anger now. "Their names are Nathaniel and Natalie," she said (A/N: Well, I wasn't going to name them after no cowboys!) "They've been following me for ages now...the last time I ran into them I almost lost all of my Pokémon."  
One look at the evil glimmer in Nathaniel and Natalie's eyes and Tracey knew that these two were no Jessie and James. "What are they after you for?" he asked her.  
Madison shrugged. "They say they want my Pokémon...they think that they have powers that are greater than any other individual of their species."  
Remembering that the same reason was behind Jessie and James' attacks on Ash and Misty, Tracey once again felt that he had no idea what was going on.  
He was caught off guard when the man, Nathaniel, spoke. "So, Ayleigha, we meet again." His voice chilled Tracey to the bone. It seemed like he was whispering, but at a normal volume level. (A/N: For anyone that watches Cardcaptors as well, I had Yue in mind when I wrote this) "It's been a long time."  
"Coulda been a bit longer if you ask me," Madison snapped in a harsh voice.  
"Hey, look!" the girl, Natalie, said. "She's got a new guy with her!"  
"Nothing we can't handle," Nathaniel said. "We almost got that girl beat last time. What could this guy possibly have that she don't?"  
Madison stepped forward menacingly. "You had the home field advantage. Try and take me on neutral turf!"  
"Fine, if you want," Natalie said, flipping her hair out of her face and grabbing a PokéBall from her belt. "Machamp, let's mix it up!" she commanded. Seconds later, a towering Pokémon with four powerful arms erupted from its PokéBall.  
"Let's even the score, Sneasel!" Nathaniel cried, tossing the PokéBall.  
Madison looked over at Tracey. "D'ya think you could take the Sneasel? It's an Ice-and-Dark type."  
Tracey ran over the type matchups that he'd memorized at Professor Oak's lab, and nodded. "Sure, I got it," he said, pulling Scyther's PokéBall from his waistband. *Bug types have the advantage over Dark types. I would use Venonat, but I think we need a warrior here.* "Scyther, I choose you!" he commanded. Scyther emerged in a flash of red light.  
"Misdreavus, let's get ready to rumble!" Madison cried, tossing her PokéBall. A Ghost-type Pokémon emerged, spinning a few loop-da-loops in the air before facing its opponent.   
"Good calls," Nathaniel said his sharp blue eyes giving Tracey the impression that he could read his mind. "But we can still mess it up! Sneasel, Frustration attack!"  
"Frustration in stereo, Machamp!" Natalie ordered.   
Both Pokémon glowed with an eerie black light.  
"Frustration..." Madison said. "The more unhappy a Pokémon is with it's trainer,"   
"The more power the attack gains," Tracey finished. "And any Pokémon belonging to Team Rocket is bound to be unhappy..."  
"They must have just learned this attack..." Madison looked afraid for a brief second before her eyes froze up again. "Misdreavus, counter it with Psybeam!"  
A bright multicoloured beam shot from Misdreavus' head, slamming straight into Machamp and visibly weakening the Pokémon.  
"Scyther, let's get that Sneasel. Try out your Fury Cutter attack," Tracey commanded, feeling the long awaited adrenaline rush that came hand-in-hand with battling.  
Scyther faced the Sneasel and enveloped it in a fury of blade swipes.   
"It's not this easy, Trace," Madison said. "If the cops don't show up..."  
"Sneasel, Pursuit!"  
Scyther bowed under the force of the attack. Tracey held out Scyther's PokéBall.  
Madison grabbed his arm. "No, don't recall it!" she said. "Pursuit gains more power if the target is recalled!" She pulled another PokéBall from her belt. "Misdreavus, time for a Smokescreen attack!" As Misdreavus let loose with Smokscreen, Madison carefully dropped the PokéBall. A Blissey emerged. "Blissey, Sing!"  
She clapped her hands over her ears and motioned for Tracey to do the same as Blissey began to Sing.  
Nathaniel and Natalie tried to cover their ears, but were a few seconds too slow. Blissey's song drifted through the air and forced Machamp and Sneasel to the ground.   
When Misdreavus' Smokescreen cleared, Nathaniel and Natalie were sound alseep, as well as their Pokémon.  
Madison recalled her Pokémon and grabbed Tracey's arm. "C'mon," she said. "If we're lucky, we can clear out before they wake up!"  
Tracey quickly recalled Scyther and followed. "Sounds like you could use some help on your journey here."  
Madison looked back at him. "You're not serious," she said. "You really don't want to come with me and have to deal with that every day, do you?"  
Tracey raised his eyebrows. "Hey, you didn't have to stick up for me every time I got picked on when we were kids, but you did. Think of it as returning a favor. Now, let's go!"   
As they ran off as fast as their feet could take them, both knew that there was an adventure greater than any that either of them had ever seen awaited them. And neither would have it any other way.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Next: "Mystery of Cranhol Island" - Arriving on the second of the Kimbrian Islands, Tracey and Madison are caught up in a full-fledged mystery. Children have been disappearing from towns and there is no logical explanation. Can the new team figure out what's going on, or will they become two more numbers on the list?   
  
A/N: Yeah, yeah, Tracey invited himself along again, but there's more to it in the next chapter. If I can get out of this d@mn writer's block before then...  
  



End file.
